Who loves Bill Clinton? Barbara Bush does

Former presidents Bill Clinton, left, and George H.W. Bush bonded when they traveled to Indonesia in 2005 after a devastating tsunami. (Muhamad Arwan, AFP)

Barbara Bush loves Bill Clinton. Really.

The former first lady sounded like a proud mother about Clinton, the man who defeated George H.W. Bush (and Ross Perot) in the 1992 presidential election. Bush said in a C-SPAN interview that her husband and his Democratic successor have bonded like father and son over the years, especially on a trip to raise money to help victims of the 2004 tsunami in South Asia.

“George told me Bill insisted he stay in the bed, and Bill insisted that he was taken care of, and that was really nice,” Bush told C-SPAN. “I love Bill Clinton. Maybe not his politics, but I love Bill Clinton.”

The former first lady explained that when Clinton visits the Bushes at the family’s summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, the families do not talk politics. She said she read somewhere that people who want to criticize someone should keep their background in mind.

“Bill’s father wasn’t around,” Bush said about Clinton. “And I think that he thinks of George a little bit like the father he didn’t have, and he’s very loving to him. And I really appreciate that.”

Bush was certainly candid with C-SPAN during her October interview for the First Ladies series, which airs this week. She was very clear that she doesn’t want her son, Jeb, to run for president and the former Florida governor zinged his mom with a retort on Twitter.

Maybe Bush will get a Mother’s Day card from Clinton if Jeb conveniently forgets.